


promises

by yasi



Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Coda, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:13:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23302198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yasi/pseuds/yasi
Summary: A little coda for the episode on 24 March 2020.
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Comments: 4
Kudos: 81





	promises

Callum is tired, so very tired. He doesn’t want to deal with all of this anymore. It shouldn’t be his problem. He should just walk away. He _wants_ to be selfish and leave and hide away from the world and not think about anything else.

But there is Ben, struggling and in pain. He’s crying. Callum would like nothing more than walk away. But who would be there for Ben?

Callum knows how lonely he’s been, how lonely they’ve both been. That’s why he can’t leave. Because of the whispered promises they’d made to each other not that long ago.

That night Ben hadn’t left with Phil. After they’d celebrated with Lexi and Lola and Jay, they’d hidden away in Ben’s room and held on to each other desperately. Both still scared to lose the other. Callum had still been in awe that Ben had chosen him over his own dad, had chosen to stay with Callum. When Callum had voiced that awe, Ben’s answer had been quick. That he’d always choose Callum, no matter what happened and how hard things got.

“I won’t make it easy for you, though,” Ben had whispered. “I know you love me, but I’m not an easy person to love. I will fight you tooth and nail and one day you will walk away. But until then I will be here and hold on to you as long as I can.”

Callum’s heart had ached. He’d known of Ben’s troubled life and how much it’d fucked him up, but it still hurt to hear how little he thought of himself. How he thought he didn’t deserve love.

“And I will do my best to show you how much I do love you. And that I’ll never give up on you, no matter what you do.” He’d hugged Ben closer to himself, burying his nose in Ben’s hair. “I promise to never walk away from you.”

Ben had hugged him harder and they’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms.

Callum can’t walk away because this is Ben at his worst, hurting and lashing out and doing his best to make Callum walk away. Pushing Callum away because he can’t deal with his own pain.

Callum closes his eyes for a second. When he opens them, he takes a tentative step towards Ben and then another until he’s finally standing before him, carefully cradling Ben’s hair.

He hates seeing Ben like this, broken and suffering.

Ben throws himself at Callum, crying even more. Callum wishes he could take away all this pain, but all he can do is hold Ben and soothe it a little. Because there is much more to come. And Callum will be by his side. Because they’d promised each other. But above all, because Callum loves Ben. Even when it hurts sometimes. 


End file.
